MN Congregation Credits Welcoming Attitude for Major Growth

More than 6,500 people flock to Redwood Falls, Minnesota, each year to visit Ramsey Park, the largest municipal park in the state. Paved hiking trails, waterfalls, campsites, shelter houses, scenic overlooks, and even a zoo offer numerous opportunities to be at home in nature.

A rural community of 5,100, Redwood Falls is also home to First United Methodist Church, which is attracting its fair share of visitors and offering experiences of a different kind. A 2024 recipient of Discipleship Ministries’ One Matters Award, the church, under the leadership of Pastor Regina (Genia) Garrett, recently welcomed fourteen people who professed their faith in Christ.

That phenomenal growth is not an anomaly for this church, which averages around one hundred in weekly worship. Two adults were baptized on the first Sunday in April this year, and five more people joined the church. In May, nine confirmands who had professed their faith in Christ followed them in church membership.

Both members and visitors say Pastor Garrett’s Spirit-inspired preaching challenges them to apply the Bible’s teachings to their lives to better reflect Christ's image. Fully embracing her preaching style, many congregants take notes during her sermons and keep their Bibles open to follow. They find ways beyond worship to become involved, grow in their discipleship, and reach out into the community. Connect Groups help foster that involvement.

These groups, formed around various interests and topics, are open to people in the church and community. People from various denominations and people with no church affiliation unite around special needs such as grief support and hobbies such as cooking and games, as well as around Bible study, prayer, and spiritual gifts.

Some eight to ten Connect Groups meet seasonally, some for two or three weeks, others longer. One group, though it officially ended under its original leader, continues to meet for Bible study and discipleship and has attracted newcomers who have, in turn, invited others to join them. The original leader, who joined the church from another denomination, now teaches Sunday school, leads ministries with youth and families, and is pursuing a call to ministry.

Pastor Garrett stands out not only for her energetic and passionate preaching but also because she is often the only Black person in worship services and one of only a few in Redwood Falls. “I’m in my third year here, and I think I’ve seen ten other Black people,” she says with a laugh.

However, those in the community recognize Pastor Garrett and the church for other reasons. Sitting directly across the street from the elementary school, the church shares a special relationship with the school’s faculty and students. At the start of the school year, the church hosts a dinner on its lawn for the parents of the students. On the first day of school, Pastor Garrett and others in the congregation line the street waving signs of affirmation for the children as they approach the school. They give gifts to the teachers and classes at Christmas and books to the students during National Reading Month.

It doesn’t stop there. Pastor Garrett wanted the children to learn to give and receive, so she and the church supplied hundreds of gifts at Christmas, allowing the school’s four-hundred-plus students to “shop” for two gifts each to give to parents and loved ones. They even wrapped the gifts once the children had selected them.

Church members fill backpacks with food twice a month and provide them for school staff to distribute to children whose families need it. The Presbyterian church does the same the other two weeks of the month, and, together, the churches meet a critical community need.

In a spirit of ecumenism, the churches of Redwood Falls support and often participate in each other’s events and activities and occasionally hold joint services. Pastor Garrett is one of three preachers for street revivals sponsored by the Assemblies of God church. Her ministry extends to the local memory care center, where she leads worship services and celebrates Communion with the residents.